Adrian College women's hockey eyes NCHA title

Thursday

Oct 31, 2013 at 1:30 PM

By Matt SisolerDaily Telegram Sports Writer

It is a brand new season, and the Adrian College women's hockey team has very high hopes as it looks forward.

The tough road schedule, difficult conference or young goalies do not intimidate coach Chad Davis. His eyes are firmly locked on the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association title and an NCAA Division III tournament berth.

The Bulldogs fell short of the feat last year, suffering a heartbreaking loss in the first round of the NCHA playoffs, losing 2-1 to Wisconsin-Stevens Point in a tiebreaker mini-game at home. Adrian finished the season with a 20-6-1 record and a 14-5-1 record in the NCHA, good enough for second overall in the regular season.

Adrian's biggest challenge this year will be replacing All-American and NCHA Player of the Year goaltender Brittany Zeches. The Bulldogs will have to rely on two new freshmen goaltenders, Jade Walsh and Brooke Gibson, along with returning sophomore Allie Carter, to backstop Adrian towards the title.

The Bulldogs have talented scorers in Danielle Smith, Kelsey Kusch and Devyn FitzHenry, who combined for 47 goals last season and are looking to power the Bulldogs' attack this season. Alix Vallee, coming off of an All-American season as a junior, will need to anchor the blue line and help the young defense grow as a unit.

"We expect to be strong in the net and look forward to one of the goaltenders stepping up and leading this team," said Davis. "We have our top penalty killers back with Hannah McGowan, Lauren Turner and Abby Kibler, which finished fourth best in the country and our top power play unit is back, as well."

Kusch will be expected to take on a big role after she had a breakout year last season, leading the Bulldogs in goals (20) and points (39), good enough for third in goals and second in points in the NCHA. Smith will look to improve on her performance from last year, as well, as she was second on the team in goals (17) and points (29), her goal total being good enough for fifth in the NCHA.

The newest class of freshmen will look to make a big impact right out of the gate. Forwards Kristin Lewicki and Kaylyn Schroka and defenseman Lexie Tzafaroglou are three new faces to the team that could lend immediate impact to the team's play, along with transfer forward Michelle Jones.

"We have a very solid core of returners this season complemented by 12 new faces, and we feel this group has the opportunity to win every night," said Davis. "The coaching staff is very confident in this team, and we look forward to starting our season this Friday."

The Bulldogs will open their season this weekend with a two-game series against NCHA opponent Lake Forest.